Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Great Lizard of St. Dora

[Extra update for the adorable reader Hidden Pain!]

Hiss...

Shu Mingyuan dispatched the two senior agents from the Baroque Works cleanly and efficiently. Vivi, watching from the sidelines, had become numb to the violence; those who possessed Devil Fruit powers were not ordinary people. At the hands of those two, she would have stood no chance but to run for her life.

“All right, the rats are dealt with. Let's go,” Shu Mingyuan said with a smile as he walked toward her.

“We're headed this way... Are you really planning to go to the rebel army’s main base, Cattleya?” Shu Mingyuan inquired. “Aren’t you afraid the rebels might capture you?”

“Yes, I have to go. I have proof that Crocodile is trying to seize control of this country. No matter what, the people must know! This war cannot be allowed to break out!” Vivi’s expression was resolute.

Shu Mingyuan let out a mocking laugh. “The evidence you speak of is nothing but eavesdropped rumors. The masses won’t believe just your word. Could Crocodile, the nation’s hero, be someone plotting to steal the country?”

Vivi was momentarily breathless. Shu Mingyuan rested his chin on his hand, then smiled. “Well, there’s another way. Just go straight to Rainbase and deal with Crocodile directly. That would solve everything.”

Vivi managed a bitter smile. She knew that option all too well. But judging by what she’d learned within Baroque Works, Crocodile, as one of the Seven Warlords, was already immensely powerful, and Rainbase was his stronghold, filled with senior officers. Even if she made it to Crocodile, she stood no chance.

As for the young man before her, she was still at his mercy. What right did she have to ask anything of him? Besides, she couldn’t believe that this boy, barely older than herself, could possibly be a match for Crocodile.

“Of course, I was just making a suggestion. The choice is yours. Go wherever you wish,” Shu Mingyuan said with a mischievous grin. He was tempted to test a certain theory and challenge Crocodile himself, but he didn’t want to alter the course of events for his own amusement.

Vivi nodded, her gaze unwavering. In a firm voice, she declared, “It’s decided. We’re going to Cattleya. Whether the citizens believe me or not, I’ll do everything in my power to persuade them!” In that moment, Vivi truly looked the part of a princess.

Shu Mingyuan was momentarily dazed, a phrase from his previous life echoing in his mind:

“A princess of medieval Europe was never a mere ornament; each one was a soldier able to fight on the battlefield.”

He nodded, then swung himself onto Karoo the duck’s back and called to Vivi, “Then it’s settled. Our destination: Cattleya!”

…

It was still the middle of the night, hours before dawn. Karoo the duck raced across the desert, kicking up a trail of dust behind them.

Shu Mingyuan, comfortably nestled behind Vivi, let his hands rest around her waist under the pretense that the bumpy ride on Karoo’s back might otherwise send him tumbling off. Of course, Vivi didn’t believe such an excuse—someone who could dispatch senior agents of Baroque Works with ease wouldn’t have trouble staying mounted. She fumed inwardly at Shu Mingyuan’s shamelessness, but there was nothing she could do. The only consolation was that his hands simply rested there and did not wander.

“Don’t squirm, little lady,” Shu Mingyuan murmured. “I haven’t slept all night and even got into a fight for you. Let me lean for a bit—there’s no need for knives this time, right?”

The moment he spoke, Vivi’s heart skipped a beat. So he’d known all along. Why hadn’t he said anything at the time? Was it because he knew she couldn’t kill him?

Vivi’s tense body relaxed a little, allowing the boy behind her to rest more comfortably.

Soon, his steady breathing signaled he’d fallen asleep.

“Have you ever met Luffy?” Shu Mingyuan suddenly asked.

Vivi was startled. “Who’s Luffy?”

No reply came; in a moment, he was asleep again.

From Vivi’s answer, Shu Mingyuan’s earlier guess was confirmed—Luffy and his crew hadn’t chosen this magnetic route but one of the other six. Thus, they wouldn’t arrive in Alabasta, and the civil unrest would continue. It seemed the flap of his butterfly wings had altered the course of the original story.

Traveling from the parched city of Eluma to the rebel army’s main base at Cattleya required crossing a canal and then taking a boat to the port city of Rapeseed before finally reaching Cattleya. Eluma was already by the sea; at their current pace, they’d arrive before dawn.

Roar!

Suddenly, the sand before them swelled high, and a low, guttural roar echoed from below, as if from the depths of the abyss. Vivi’s heart chilled as she recalled rumors of a giant beast that haunted the desert, preying on any living thing that passed through.

“No way... Could we really be that unlucky?” Vivi’s face turned pale as she steered Karoo away from the rising mound of sand. But a clawed paw burst from the sand, swiping viciously at Karoo.

Karoo, the fastest creature in Alabasta, narrowly avoided disaster at the last instant, but the massive forelimb now blocked their path.

Sand cascaded from the beast’s mountain-like body, revealing a gigantic lizard with razor-sharp teeth and claws. Its dark green scales glimmered with a ghostly sheen in the moonlight, and a savage aura filled the air.

It was a Grand Sandora Lizard!

A colossal claw came crashing down, casting a wall-like shadow that loomed larger and larger in Vivi’s eyes. Karoo trembled uncontrollably in the monster’s presence.

“We’re done for...” Vivi thought bitterly.

Suddenly, her back felt lighter—Shu Mingyuan was already on the ground, facing the massive descending foot, his expression one of annoyance.

“Hey, big guy... You woke me up!” he snapped.

“Art of Magnification!”

With a thunderous shout, Shu Mingyuan’s arms expanded to monstrous proportions before Vivi’s disbelieving eyes, catching the lizard’s crushing foot and holding it firmly aloft. Then, with a burst of strength, he seized the limb, lifted the entire Grand Sandora Lizard, and slammed it hard into the ground!

Such terrifying power!

To see a human display greater strength than a wild beast—at this moment, Shu Mingyuan seemed a war god to Vivi.

The desert itself seemed to tremble; dust flew everywhere. The Grand Sandora Lizard howled in pain, dazed from the impact. Before it could rise, Shu Mingyuan’s enormous arm manifested a spear crackling with lightning, which he brought down upon the lizard’s neck.

“Ninja Sword Art—Lightning Flash!”

P.S. [So few new bookmarks today... dear readers, have you stopped loving me?]